Independence staff recommends one-year IRIS contract extension after ridership rises to about 7,000

City staff said they will bring a one-year extension of the city’s public transit contract — the IRIS microtransit service — to the council for consideration at the May 19 meeting and that the service has shown steady usage since its Jan. 2 launch.

“Since the inception, we've had almost 7,000 riders,” Terry O’Toole of Z Trip said during a council update. The service operates 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., six days a week; the base fare is $5 per ride unless a rider uses one of several city-designated free transfer hubs such as Centerpoint Medical Center.

The city’s community development director, Tom Skinnell, said staff and the contractor are recommending the single-year extension to preserve the current level of service: five vehicles, the existing fare and free transit hubs, and 12-hour service days. Skinnell said the extension is on the council agenda for May 19.

Why it matters: Staff told the council the fixed-route alternative the city previously ran would have required millions more in the first year to deliver comparable coverage. Skinnell said transitioning to IRIS was driven principally by cost: continuing the prior fixed-route service would have increased budget needs by multiple millions in the first year and even more in later years, while IRIS allows the city to serve its 78 square miles within budget constraints.

Key numbers and performance: Council members heard that the service averages about 93 passenger trips per day, has roughly a 37% shared-ride rate (meaning two or more passengers are sharing a vehicle on about 37% of trips), an average of roughly two passengers per vehicle hour (near the high end of industry expectations for microtransit), and on-time pickup and drop-off performance in the low-90% range. The presentation also reported about 543 unique users and an average ride rating of 4.78 out of 5.

Councillors asked about regional connections and service reliability. O’Toole and Skinnell answered questions about coordination with Kansas City Area Transit (KCMO): the council was told Route 24 was expected to continue serving the area under contemplated KCMO cuts, but Route 28 was slated for elimination under those proposals, which could reduce regional bus connections.

Budget note and next steps: Tom Skinnell reminded the council the transit extension being presented May 19 would maintain current service and that staff are monitoring KCMO adjustments and will continue to make local adjustments in coordination with the contractor as needed. The city manager noted the extension would add about $350,000 to the city’s budgeted transit expenditures to maintain service levels. The item will return to the council on May 19 for formal consideration; no formal contract action was recorded at this meeting.